Healthy Oil-Free Roasted Chickpeas (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

These crispy, crunchy and insanely addictive roasted chickpeas are made completely oil-free and fat-free, but you’d never be able to tell! They are a quick, easy and customizable snack recipe which is completely vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free!

Happy Wednesday, cool bananas.

It’s that time again for the epic contribution of my buddy, Natalie! You guys adored this savory delight last month, so my mission of showcasing her savory goodness is going to plan. Get ready to up your snack game, as these oil-free chickpeas will be your new snack of choice! Actually, I’m kind of craving these wraps and these sweet potatoes….

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Crispy, crunchy, snack-perfect chickpeas—simplified.

And made without oil. Roasted chickpeas are one of those things that I am not quite sure how or why the oil snuck its way into. Roasting many things does require oil for proper crisping, but give chickpeas a chance and they will actually turn quite crunchy all on their own. And stay crunchy too if you store them right, even a few days after roasting these little guys are still not quiet to eat.

So the perfect library or other small, silent, public place snack? Probably not. But the perfect any other time snack? Absolutely!

Leaving the oil out of this simple snack-making process takes the ingredient count down to just 2 for the basic version: chickpeas and salt. Plus no oil means no greasy hands or greasy pans to clean, and I am all about minimizing clean-up.

The process is simple too. Well unless you tend to be a bit…meticulous. Have you ever noticed when you are rinsing a can of chickpeas for hummus or other legume-related reasons that they have these little translucent shells? A few will come off and run down the drain, but usually, I don’t worry too much about the rest. However, if you rub rinsed chickpeas between a dishtowel to dry them as is necessary pre-roasting, more than just a few begin to loosen.

Thanks a lot, friction.

And once a few come off, I for one can’t help but remove the rest. Or at least try, a few still snuck past me. It’s totally NOT necessary, though, they will roast just fine either way. The shells actually turn into a delicate layer of extra crispiness on the outside. I just wanted to share that little word of warning so you don’t think you have funky mutant chickpeas or anything, though. I should note that removing those little shells does make for extra luxurious hummus texture in my experience…but I chickpea recipe digress.

After rinsing and thoroughly drying (and de-shelling if you can’t resist), all you need to do is spread them out on a pan and bake at 400F for about 45 minutes. It is important to check on them every 15 minutes and give them a little stir for even cooking and browning. Since all ovens vary slightly, keep an extra close eye on them for the last 10 minutes or so because they can burn quickly. Especially those pesky few that always roll to the back of the pan.

Now because this recipe is so simple, I decided to share a few fun flavor variations too. My first instinct flavor, SWEET and salty, didn’t make the list this time…but trust me it will happen!

For now here are 4 savory flavor ideas just for you…

Lemon pepper. This is the first not-sweet flavor idea that came to mind because I personally love the combo and think it is a bit underrated. The brightness of the lemon + spice of the pepper + saltiness of the…salt works so well all together in one crunchy bite.

Ranch. This one actually turned out to be my favorite, the flavor was a spot-on salad dressing mimic. I promise I didn’t use powdered ranch dressing mix (although no judgment if you want to try that!), just a combo of the right herbs and seasonings: dill, parsley, onion, garlic, and a bit of vinegar.

Nacho cheese. I know nutritional yeast can be a controversial thing–love it like cheese or hate it and don’t understand how anyone can even remotely compare it to cheese–but it is powdery and perfect for coating chickpeas with “cheesy” flavor. Plus a certain few spices for the nacho part.

Salt and vinegar. The trickiest one of the group because the flavor of vinegar tends to cook off after 45 minutes of high heat. For the first batch, I added 1 tablespoon of vinegar before baking and another 1 tablespoon about 10 minutes before they were done to give them enough time to still turn crispy. It worked okay, but the vinegar flavor was not as strong as I wanted.

For the second batch, I soaked the chickpeas in vinegar for 30 minutes prior to baking, drained but did NOT rinse them, and added salt. Much more vinegar flavor. (And smell—when you open the oven door, be prepared!) I like using a larger crystal salt for this one, but it’s totally optional of course.

Or just dress them up with your favorite spices or herbs, they are the perfect vehicle for all kinds of seasonings!

One final quick tip! For optimal and lasting crunchiness, after they are done baking turn off the oven, crack the door, and let them cool in there for about an hour. I know it’s a long time to wait, but it really locks in the crunchy.

Happy salty snappy garbanzo snacking!

Healthy Oil-Free Roasted Chickpeas

These crispy, crunchy and insanely addictive roasted chickpeas are made completely oil-free and fat-free, but you'd never be able to tell! They are a quick, easy and customizable snack recipe which is completely vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free!

Salt and Vinegar

Instructions

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Spread onto one half of a dish towel, fold over the other half, and thoroughly dry them. Remove any shells that may loosen in the process.

Transfer to a bowl. Toss with the salt.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the chickpeas out evenly on the pan. Bake for 45 minutes, checking and stirring every 15 for even baking/browning. Watch them closely for the last 10 minutes as they can burn easily.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Or to ensure maximum crispiness, you can turn off the oven, crack the door, and let them cool in there for about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container.

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Woah…look at all those flavor options! I actually have a couple cans of chickpeas in my cupboard right now, and I keep thinking I should roast them up as an easy and healthy snack. So this post just read my mind! Yum!

These are great! I love chickpeas! I don’t like removing those skins, however so I’m so glad its not needed for this! I used to make hummus at my coffee shop and would meticulously remove all the skins on buckets of chickpeas to get the smoothest result. SO NOT FUN!

I usually fry my chickpeas in oil, and always feel guilty for doing that! I was quite nervous to try this recipe, because I didn’t want my chickpeas to be “dry”. Rather than turning out crispy, they turn out crunchy! Awesome for salads, burritos, ect. Glad I tried it!

G’day, I’m Arman!

Thanks for stopping by The Big Man’s World ®. My name is Arman Liew, and I’m stoked to have you here! Here you’ll find delicious HEALTHY recipes, inspirational travel, and lifestyle, all served with a side of cheeky banter.